Bayou Boogaloo THIS WEEKEND!

[Charlies Neighborhood News]

One of the fastest-growing community festivals to enter the New Orleans music scene since Hurricane Katrina, Bayou Boogaloo, takes their offerings at an already fantastic fest to the next level this year. This weekend, May 17 – 19, will mark the 7th annual Bayou Boogaloo festival on Bayou St. John and not only do they have a pretty fresh VIP experience set up at this year’s celebration on the bayou in Mid-City, but OffBeat has a chance for you to win a pair of passes for this ultimate new way to partake in the Boogaloo right here, right now!

The Bayou Boogaloo lines the banks of the historic Bayou St. John in Mid-City.

Local non-profit community organization and founding group of the Mid-City fest, the MotherShip Foundation, has partnered with the music-centric non-profit, the Positive Vibrations Foundation, to bring us the 2013 Bayou Boogaloo with three stages of live, local music and several blocks of New Orleans food and art to enjoy. What is unique about the Bayou Boogaloo festival though is its location right along the banks of the historic Bayou St. John where kayakers and small boaters can easily row right up to the festival, dock and dive right into the festivities. You can even relax, enjoy a cool beverage and listen to the music right from your kayak. An interactive children’s area is expanded again and heck, you can even bring your pooch and let ‘em cool off in the Doggy VIP.

Over 25,000 fest-goers attended Bayou Boogaloo last year, according to festival producers.

But let’s get right to the music, shall we? Expecting no less from organizer Jared Zeller and the rest of the MotherShip crew, this year’s music line-up will feature a little bit of everything for everybody, including a few rising bands we are super excited about, such as The Honorable South, The Local Skank, Debauche and more. This year’s performance line-up even includes live comedy, storytelling and improv from John Calhoun and The Goodnight Show, as well as family yoga, dance, drum circles, acrobats and burlesque. Intermixed with live music featuring everything from Zydeco to Bounce and everything in-between, the Boogaloo is a bonafide New Orleans experience.